American writer, director, and producer known for creating offbeat comedies featuring unconventional protagonists. Apatow was a self-described awkward, undersized child who was always picked last for school sports teams. He was deeply scarred as a youth by his parents’ divorce, and his anger over their breakup would become a recurring theme in his later work. He found his niche as the host of Club Comedy, a radio show at Syosset High School, in which he interviewed established professional comedians, including Garry Shandling, Steven Wright, and Jerry Seinfeld. At age 16 he began working as a dishwasher at a comedy club and soon launched his own stand-up act. After high-school graduation, Apatow enrolled in the screenwriting program at the University of Southern California (USC). His tenure at USC lasted only about two years, however, and he returned briefly to stand-up before becoming a joke writer for other comedians, notably Roseanne Barr. In his mid-20s Apatow worked as a producer...